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GRA

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
14,018
Location
East side of San Francisco Bay
GCR:
GM's Ultium propulsion strategy for EVs: 400 miles or more, up to 1,000 hp
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...tegy-for-evs-400-miles-or-more-up-to-1-000-hp


General Motors provided Wednesday the most comprehensive picture yet of how its “all-electric future” will take form—quickly, efficiently, and profitably, as the company emphasized. . . .

. . . the company previewed 11 fully electric vehicles in different stages of development . . . it distilled the philosophy behind its so-called BEV3 architecture to a very simple common thread: One cell family, one motor family, endless possibilities.

The so-called Ultium battery packs will range from 50 to 200 kilowatt-hours, with a driving range of “up to 400 miles or more,” while motor power (via one, two, or three motors) will add up to a total of 235 hp to 1,000 hp per vehicle.

Through GM’s $2.3 billion joint venture with LG Chem, at an upcoming facility set to break ground in Lordstown, Ohio, in April, the company will have a dedicated cell capacity of more than 30 gwh per year, with room to expand. Groundbreaking for the new facility will be this spring.

GM’s cell modules will have a built-in battery management system that allows the automaker to upgrade cells down the line more easily, and the large-format cells cut out 80 percent of the wiring versus using smaller cells.

Depending on the vehicle, GM can stack its large-format pouch modules horizontally or vertically, with a total of 19 different battery and drive unit configurations. That will be a dramatic reduction in complexity compared to the 555 different internal-combustion powertrain combinations the company has today.

The new architecture can support front-, all-, or rear-wheel drive, using versions of the same motor family mounted in front or in back.

GM has what amounts to a single component set that spans cars, crossovers and trucks, with a platform shared among the cars and crossovers. One key difference between GM’s strategy and those of some other automakers is that it’s not a skateboard—meaning that the components come together in a way that does not suggest building “rollers” that can then fit propulsion systems. That leaves the option open for most or all of the cars and crossovers to share some common body or chassis components while trucks might be body-on-frame.

Trucks also deviate from the format in offering the possibility of double-stacking battery packs, which allows GM to connect them to enable 800-volt charging and 350-kw DC fast-charging capability. Ultimately that will enable charging rates of up to 100 miles in 10 minutes for either the 400- or 800-volt versions. . . .

Prior to both of these models [GRA: Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq], a refreshed version of the Bolt EV will launch late this year, followed by the Bolt EUV—a version built on a wheelbase 3 inches longer but carrying over the existing battery pack and front-wheel drive. The EUV will be the first of many vehicles outside of Cadillac to offer its SuperCruise driver-assist system.

Prior to the introduction of the EUV, GM is anticipating that Bolt EV sales will double year over year, to 50,000, with 30,000 for the U.S. . . .


Seeing as how the demand is for AWD CUVs, why on earth would GM make the same mistake that Ford (C-Max, Escape PHEV) and Hyundai/Kia have made and not offer the EUV with AWD? This is dumb.
 
The refreshed bolt sounds pretty good depending on price. New seats and interior and adaptive cruise and new infotainment screen and software, plus a few other things.

2021 bolt range will be the same but that was expected since it increased for 2020.
A downside of that is that charging speeds still top out around 50 kw.

The EUV, besides not having AWD, gets the same pack so that means the EUVs range will be shorter than the bolt.
 
IEVS:
Nikola To Merge With VectoIQ And Be Listed On NASDAQ
https://insideevs.com/news/402148/nikola-merge-vectoiq/


Nikola Corporation, which develops electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, announced a surprising definitive agreement to merge with VectoIQ Acquisition Corp., described as "a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company".

Once completed, the combined $3.3 billion company will be named Nikola Corporation and is expected to remain NASDAQ-listed under the new ticker symbol “NKLA” (VectoIQ was already listed on NASDAQ as VTIQ). The area of interest will remain similar: "the development of next generation smart transportation".

The deal includes also a $525 million private placement of common stock so the new entity will have a surplus of cash. . . .

Nikola Corporation boasts that so far it collected more than 14,000 pre-orders for its trucks, which represents more than $10 billion in potential revenue and two-and-a-half years of production.

The company hopes to generate first revenues from selling all-electric vehicles by 2021, and from selling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in 2023. . . .
 
danrjones said:
The refreshed bolt sounds pretty good depending on price. New seats and interior and adaptive cruise and new infotainment screen and software, plus a few other things.

2021 bolt range will be the same but that was expected since it increased for 2020.
A downside of that is that charging speeds still top out around 50 kw.
2019 Bolt DC FC rate tops out at 55 kW. I've hit it. IIRC, it's the same on 2020 but the tapers are more gradual instead of the weird sharp drops on 2017 to 2019.

If the DC FC rate isn't increased for 2021, that's unfortunate.
 
cwerdna said:
danrjones said:
The refreshed bolt sounds pretty good depending on price. New seats and interior and adaptive cruise and new infotainment screen and software, plus a few other things.

2021 bolt range will be the same but that was expected since it increased for 2020.
A downside of that is that charging speeds still top out around 50 kw.
2019 Bolt DC FC rate tops out at 55 kW. I've hit it. IIRC, it's the same on 2020 but the tapers are more gradual instead of the weird sharp drops on 2017 to 2019.

If the DC FC rate isn't increased for 2021, that's unfortunate.


What technical reason would keep them from raising it to something like 100.
 
webeleafowners said:
cwerdna said:
danrjones said:
The refreshed bolt sounds pretty good depending on price. New seats and interior and adaptive cruise and new infotainment screen and software, plus a few other things.

2021 bolt range will be the same but that was expected since it increased for 2020.
A downside of that is that charging speeds still top out around 50 kw.
2019 Bolt DC FC rate tops out at 55 kW. I've hit it. IIRC, it's the same on 2020 but the tapers are more gradual instead of the weird sharp drops on 2017 to 2019.

If the DC FC rate isn't increased for 2021, that's unfortunate.


What technical reason would keep them from raising it to something like 100.

I was wondering that too. It could be their cell or pack design or max cooling, or it could be they are saving that as a feature for higher end models they are listing. One would think that with this new platform they were going on about that at 60+ kWh they would be able to hit more than 55 kW
 
danrjones said:
webeleafowners said:
cwerdna said:
2019 Bolt DC FC rate tops out at 55 kW. I've hit it. IIRC, it's the same on 2020 but the tapers are more gradual instead of the weird sharp drops on 2017 to 2019.

If the DC FC rate isn't increased for 2021, that's unfortunate.


What technical reason would keep them from raising it to something like 100.

I was wondering that too. It could be their cell or pack design or max cooling, or it could be they are saving that as a feature for higher end models they are listing. One would think that with this new platform they were going on about that at 60+ kWh they would be able to hit more than 55 kW

Yah. We just came through Harris Ranch and noticed that there were 8 Chademo/CCS stations being installed there. Interestingly enough the two that we could see not in their crates were 150 KW for both Chademo and CCS. These are being installed right beside the 16 V2 Superchargers.
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
Those should Give you the full 75-80 KW when at a low SOC on the Plus.

Right, so if Nissan can hit 80 kW without any real battery thermal system, then its a bit bizarre that Chevy can't hit at least the same or higher.
 
^^^Maybe they're just being more conservative, to enhance battery life. It's the average charging rate that matters to me rather than the max. rate, at least until the range and charging infrastructure increase to the point that sub-80% charges make sense for me. Ideally, I'd like to see a battery that can take at least a 1.5C charge rate to 80% or more, with no worries.
 
webeleafowners said:
Yah. We just came through Harris Ranch and noticed that there were 8 Chademo/CCS stations being installed there. Interestingly enough the two that we could see not in their crates were 150 KW for both Chademo and CCS. These are being installed right beside the 16 V2 Superchargers.


That's the EA station, although I'm willing to bet that there's only a single CCS/CHAdeMO, with the latter rated at 150 kW CCS/50kW CHAdeMO. There's a chargepoint on the other side of the freeway, with 3 CCS/CHAdeMO stations.
 
GRA said:
webeleafowners said:
Yah. We just came through Harris Ranch and noticed that there were 8 Chademo/CCS stations being installed there. Interestingly enough the two that we could see not in their crates were 150 KW for both Chademo and CCS. These are being installed right beside the 16 V2 Superchargers.


That's the EA station, although I'm willing to bet that there's only a single CCS/CHAdeMO, with the latter rated at 150 kW CCS/50kW CHAdeMO. There's a chargepoint on the other side of the freeway, with 3 CCS/CHAdeMO stations.

I took some pictures and didn’t blow them up to look close at them till now. I think you are right. Looks like dual CCS at 150. I haven’t uploaded them to flicker but if someone wants to see them I can and then put them in thr thread. Good location though. Two good restaurants. We stayed in the parking lot with the Motorhome. Wish it had destination chargers though. We will be overnighting there next fall on the way to Palm Springs.
 
Put this here because we'll never see this in the U.S. GCR:
France's Citroen will rent its Ami two-seat electric car for less than $23 a month
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...wo-seat-electric-car-for-less-than-23-a-month


. . . The Ami will be available to rent for the equivalent of $23 a month, for a 48-month period with $2,900, or for shorter terms through Free2Move, the car-sharing service operated by Citroën parent PSA Group.

Customers will also purchase an Ami outright for $7,600 when it goes on sale later this year.

What's more, the Ami can be driven in in Europe without a full driver's license. The Ami's small size and low top speed (28 mph) mean it isn't considered a car under EU regulations. It's technically a "quadricycle," according to Citroën.

That means the Ami can be driven without a license by people was young as 14 and France, and 16 in other European countries, according to the automaker.

A 5.5-kilowatt hour battery pack gives the Ami an estimated range of 43 miles, as measured on the European WLTP testing cycle. A full recharge takes three hours from a standard European household outlet, Citroën said. . . .

The interior has space for two people and not much else, and instead of a permanent infotainment system, drivers simply plug their smartphones into the dashboard. . . .
 
LeftieBiker said:
So if you want to grocery shop you have to go alone...? Ah, well...


There's always the option of a roof rack, or just have your passenger hold a bag in their lap. But I expect most of the people using these for shopping will be doing so by themselves, so no problem there. If you regularly shop as a couple, then you've got other options like the Smart on up.
 
ETron still continues to dominate in Norway in March. Telsa had some reasonable sales, but not close to eTron.

Through today March 25th.
ETron 1,320
Tesla3 756
Golf 502
Leaf 497
Kona 252
i3 227
Peugeot 208 214
Zoe 171
Skoda Citiago 164
Kia Soul 155
Mg Zs 147
 
Recent articles say that both Lexus and Kia will be introducing 800V BEVs. The Lexus will come with a 10 year/1mil. km (621,000 mi.) 70% capacity warranty, but will apparently only be available in Europe, as its range and battery pack (ca. 54kWh) are too small for the US (and guessing they aren't willing to give that kind of warranty here given our higher temps).

Kia says the 800V cars will be for people who really need faster charging for long trips, i.e. me, but will have 400 volt cars for people who don't do a lot of long-distance driving. Sounds like we won't see affordable 800V cars for quite a while.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Kia says the 800V cars will be for people who really need faster charging for long trips, i.e. me,

They're making an EV for the people who aren't going to buy it?


People who are willing (and able) to pay more will buy it. I'm able but not willing. Of course, if they manage to offer it for well under $40k that would be a different matter, but given the price of the Niro I don't see that happening before 2025, and probably later. I'll be happy to be wrong. Here's what Kia said in their press release:

Furthermore, Kia will offer many of its new vehicles with charging capabilities tailored to the needs and budgets of customers across a range of vehicle segments. Kia’s EVs will offer either 400V or 800V charging capacity, enabling fast or rapid charging depending on the different types of buyer for individual model lines.

Pablo Martinez Masip, Director Product Planning and Pricing for Kia Motors Europe, explains: “We want to provide European customers with the best possible value for their money, something that we are committed to with every new car. This means that certain models, particularly those aimed at more cost-conscious buyers, will offer 400V charging capability. 800V charging won’t simply be reserved for Kia’s flagship models, however, but where it most closely matches the usage profile of a particular model line.

“Both systems can be charged at home or in public, with 800V rapid charging enhancing usability in models driven by customers who may rely on high-voltage rapid charging more often or drive higher mileages. 400V charging, as already found in the award-winning e-Niro and e-Soul, also enables rapid charging and will remain relevant for many customers who have greater flexibility about where and when they recharge. We will cater for all needs.”
 
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